Supported XML Schemas

The Public Records service accepts criminal records as raw XML for initial submissions. The XML is automatically detected and parsed — you do not need to specify which schema you are sending. Three XML schemas are supported:

Schema	Root Element	Structure
ScreeningResults	`<ScreeningResults>`	Flat structure — cases listed under `<postResults>` with `<chargeinfo>` for each charge
BackgroundReportPackage	`<BackgroundReportPackage>`	Nested structure — screenings contain cases with `<SubjectIdentification>` blocks
OrderXML	`<OrderXML>`	Order-based structure — `<Order>` → `<OrderDetail>` → results with `<Record>` and `<Count>` entries

All three schemas are normalized into the same internal format before compliance rules are applied. The response structure is identical regardless of which XML schema was submitted.

ScreeningResults

Root element: <ScreeningResults> The most common format. Criminal cases are listed under <postResults>, with each case containing charge information, defendant details, and case metadata.

Structure overview

<ScreeningResults>
  <login>
    <account>05022022</account>
    <username>testuser</username>
  </login>
  <Subject>
    <name_first>JOHN</name_first>
    <name_middle>A</name_middle>
    <name_last>DOE</name_last>
    <dob>19900515</dob>
    <ssn>123456789</ssn>
  </Subject>
  <postResults order="12345" type="USA_CRIMINAL" filledStatus="FILLED">
    <case>
      <case_number>MJ-05003-TR-0006023-2020</case_number>
      <offense_date>20200310</offense_date>
      <jurisdiction_state>PA</jurisdiction_state>
      <jurisdiction>Montgomery County</jurisdiction>
      <defendant>
        <name_first>JOHN</name_first>
        <name_last>DOE</name_last>
        <dob>19900515</dob>
      </defendant>
      <chargeinfo>
        <charge>DRIVING WHILE OPERATOR PRIVILEGES SUSPENDED</charge>
        <crime_type>SUMMARY</crime_type>
        <disposition>GUILTY</disposition>
        <disposition_date>20200610</disposition_date>
        <sentencing>
          <jail_time>30 Days</jail_time>
          <fine_amount>250.00</fine_amount>
          <probation>12 Months</probation>
        </sentencing>
      </chargeinfo>
    </case>
  </postResults>
</ScreeningResults>

Key elements

Element	Location	Description
`<login>`	Root	Account credentials identifying the screening provider
`<Subject>`	Root	The person being screened (name, DOB, SSN)
`<postResults>`	Root	One per search result — contains all cases from one court search
`@order`	`<postResults>` attribute	Search/order reference number
`@type`	`<postResults>` attribute	Search type (e.g., `USA_CRIMINAL`, `USA_CRIMINAL_PLUS`, `County_criminal`)
`<case>`	Inside `<postResults>`	One per criminal case — contains case number, jurisdiction, and charges
`<chargeinfo>`	Inside `<case>`	One per charge — contains charge description, type, disposition, and sentencing
`<defendant>`	Inside `<case>`	The person named in the court record (compared against the candidate for identity matching)
`<sentencing>`	Inside `<chargeinfo>`	Sentence details (jail time, fines, probation, etc.)

Accepted variations

The parser also handles:

<xml><ScreeningResults>...</ScreeningResults></xml> (nested in an outer wrapper)
<xml><postResults>...</postResults></xml> (direct case listing without the ScreeningResults wrapper)
Multiple <postResults> blocks (one per court search)
Multiple <chargeinfo> blocks within a single <case>
Single <chargeinfo> (not wrapped in an array)

BackgroundReportPackage

Root element: <BackgroundReportPackage> A more structured format that groups screening results by type, with detailed subject identification blocks per case.

Structure overview

<BackgroundReportPackage>
  <ScreeningsSummary>
    <Organization>
      <OrganizationName>ScreeningCo</OrganizationName>
    </Organization>
    <PersonalData>
      <PersonName>
        <GivenName>JOHN</GivenName>
        <MiddleName>A</MiddleName>
        <FamilyName>DOE</FamilyName>
      </PersonName>
      <DateOfBirth>1990-05-15</DateOfBirth>
    </PersonalData>
  </ScreeningsSummary>
  <Screenings>
    <Screening type="Criminal">
      <ScreeningStatus>
        <OrderStatus>COMPLETED</OrderStatus>
        <DateOrderReceived>2025-04-30</DateOrderReceived>
      </ScreeningStatus>
      <Results>
        <Result>
          <CaseNumber>2024-CF-00312</CaseNumber>
          <CourtName>Harris County Criminal Court</CourtName>
          <State>TX</State>
          <County>Harris</County>
          <FileDate>2024-01-15</FileDate>
          <SubjectIdentification>
            <PersonName>
              <GivenName>JOHN</GivenName>
              <FamilyName>DOE</FamilyName>
            </PersonName>
            <DateOfBirth>1990-05-15</DateOfBirth>
          </SubjectIdentification>
          <Charges>
            <Charge>
              <Description>THEFT OF PROPERTY >= $2,500</Description>
              <Type>FELONY</Type>
              <Disposition>GUILTY</Disposition>
              <DispositionDate>2024-06-20</DispositionDate>
            </Charge>
          </Charges>
        </Result>
      </Results>
    </Screening>
  </Screenings>
</BackgroundReportPackage>

Key elements

Element	Location	Description
`<ScreeningsSummary>`	Root	Summary information including organization and candidate personal data
`<PersonalData>`	Inside `<ScreeningsSummary>`	The person being screened — uses `<GivenName>`, `<MiddleName>`, `<FamilyName>`
`<Screenings>`	Root	Container for all screening results
`<Screening>`	Inside `<Screenings>`	One per screening type — contains status and results
`<ScreeningStatus>`	Inside `<Screening>`	Order status and dates
`<Result>`	Inside `<Results>`	One per criminal case
`<SubjectIdentification>`	Inside `<Result>`	The person named in the court record for this case
`<Charges>` / `<Charge>`	Inside `<Result>`	Individual charges with description, type, and disposition

OrderXML

Root element: <OrderXML> An order-centric format where criminal results are nested within order details. Cases are represented as records with individual charge counts.

Structure overview

<OrderXML>
  <Order>
    <Subject>
      <FirstName>JOHN</FirstName>
      <MiddleName>A</MiddleName>
      <LastName>DOE</LastName>
      <DateOfBirth>05/15/1990</DateOfBirth>
      <SSN>123-45-6789</SSN>
      <Aliases>DOE, JOHNNY A</Aliases>
      <Address>123 Main St, Austin, TX 78701</Address>
    </Subject>
    <OrderDetail OrderId="41115779" ServiceCode="County_criminal">
      <Status>COMPLETE</Status>
      <State>TX</State>
      <County>Harris</County>
      <Result>
        <Record>
          <CaseNumber>2024-CF-00312</CaseNumber>
          <FileDate>01/15/2024</FileDate>
          <DOB>05/15/1990</DOB>
          <DefendantName>DOE, JOHN A</DefendantName>
          <Count>
            <Charge>THEFT OF PROPERTY >= $2,500</Charge>
            <Type>FELONY</Type>
            <Disposition>GUILTY</Disposition>
            <DispositionDate>06/20/2024</DispositionDate>
            <OffenseDate>12/01/2023</OffenseDate>
            <Sentence>
              <PrisonTime>2 Years</PrisonTime>
              <Restitution>5000.00</Restitution>
            </Sentence>
          </Count>
        </Record>
      </Result>
    </OrderDetail>
  </Order>
</OrderXML>

Key elements

Element	Location	Description
`<Order>`	Root	The top-level order container
`<Subject>`	Inside `<Order>`	The person being screened — uses `<FirstName>`, `<LastName>`, `<DateOfBirth>`
`<Aliases>`	Inside `<Subject>`	Known aliases in `"LastName, FirstName MiddleName"` format
`<OrderDetail>`	Inside `<Order>`	One per search within the order — contains results for one court/jurisdiction
`@OrderId`	`<OrderDetail>` attribute	The order detail identifier
`@ServiceCode`	`<OrderDetail>` attribute	Search type (e.g., `County_criminal`, `Statewide_criminal`)
`<Result>`	Inside `<OrderDetail>`	Container for criminal records found
`<Record>`	Inside `<Result>`	One per criminal case
`<Count>`	Inside `<Record>`	One per individual charge within a case
`<Sentence>`	Inside `<Count>`	Sentencing details for the charge

How XML Schemas Map to the API

Regardless of which schema you submit, the service normalizes the data into the same internal structure. The mapping works like this:

Concept	ScreeningResults	BackgroundReportPackage	OrderXML	API Response
Court search	`<postResults>`	`<Screening>`	`<OrderDetail>`	`court_decisions[]`
Case	`<case>`	`<Result>`	`<Record>`	`case_decisions[]`
Charge	`<chargeinfo>`	`<Charge>`	`<Count>`	`offenses[]`
Subject name	`<defendant>`	`<SubjectIdentification>`	`<DefendantName>`	`id_match`
Charge type	`<crime_type>`	`<Type>`	`<Type>`	`type`
Disposition	`<disposition>`	`<Disposition>`	`<Disposition>`	`disposition`

You do not need to pre-process or convert between formats. Send the XML as-is in the record.xml field, and the service handles detection and parsing automatically.

Alternative: JSON Resubmission

For resubmissions with corrected data, you can bypass XML entirely and send pre-processed criminal data as JSON using record.record_json. See Resubmission Workflow and the record_json reference for the JSON structure.

How It Works — Step-by-step processing flow
Evaluate Endpoint — Full API reference including record.xml field
Resubmission Workflow — JSON resubmission path

Core Concepts

Guides

Examples

Support

Supported XML Schemas

ScreeningResults

Structure overview

Key elements

Accepted variations

BackgroundReportPackage

Structure overview

Key elements

OrderXML

Structure overview

Key elements

How XML Schemas Map to the API

Alternative: JSON Resubmission

​ScreeningResults

​Structure overview

​Key elements

​Accepted variations

​BackgroundReportPackage

​Structure overview

​Key elements

​OrderXML

​Structure overview

​Key elements

​How XML Schemas Map to the API

​Alternative: JSON Resubmission

​Related

ScreeningResults

Structure overview

Key elements

Accepted variations

BackgroundReportPackage

Structure overview

Key elements

OrderXML

Structure overview

Key elements

How XML Schemas Map to the API

Alternative: JSON Resubmission

Related